Get ready to do the Chile Cha Cha

Photo courtesy Jacque AragonThe annual Mountain Chile Cha Cha, set for this Saturday, is a time to run, eat, dance and more. The event will take place in Town Park, rain or shine.

By Jacque Aragon
Special to The PREVIEW
Are you ready to do the Chile Cha Cha? The Brooks-i Band will be bringing its original party rock ‘n’ roll dance music to Town Park for the Mountain Chile Cha Cha Saturday, Sept. 30.
Local musician Brooks Lindner has been entertaining music lovers in the Chicago area, Austin and Pagosa Springs for over 30 years. The original music of the Brooks-i Band includes the sounds of rock, blues, country and reggae to create a fun set of music that is sure to get your body moving.
This year, Brooks-i will be debuting a special song written just for the Cha Cha.
He said, “I was riding my bike up in Turkey and the song just came to me, and I thought, ‘Why haven’t I written this song for the Cha Cha before?’”
So, get ready to do the Chile Cha Cha with the Brooks-i Band.
The Mountain Chile Cha Cha is hosted by GECKO (Giving Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors), and will take place in Town Park, rain or shine. There is a kids’ fun race, a 5k, 10k and half marathon for competitors of all abilities. Go to joingecko.org for more information.
The Cha Cha will also featured the annual Patty Aragon Green Chile Classic, which celebrates the green chile harvest and a local green chile enthusiast who sated our green chile palettes for years with her tasty homemade recipe.
Roughly 40 entrants, both amateur and professional, compete in the cook-off each year. Some cooks get creative; others go classic. Three judges volunteer for the difficult and filling job of choosing their favorite chiles. Each judge tastes all chiles present and rates them on a scale from 1-10, plus takes notes in case the scores are close. Then the scores are added up and monies and medals are awarded to first, second and third places in meat, vegetarian and commercial categories.
Once the judges are finished, the tasting is opened up to the public at 12:30 p.m. Each person who participates in the tasting pays $7 and is entitled to 10 tastes and a vote for the People’s Choice Awards for first, second and third places. Commercial entries will also be eligible for these prestigious awards.